No confidence in Julani/al Sharaa and the interim government in Syria; all power to the grassroots committees; arm the masses
We salute the heroic Syrian masses for overthrowing the regime of the hated Assad. You have endured extreme hardship over many years. One of the major factors why the struggle has been isolated is that many of the Socialist groups around the world have slandered the resistance as being ‘pro-imperialist’. The Assad regime fought in a US-led alliance in the 1991 Gulf war in Kuwait. Assad’s brutal suppression of the Syrian masses over the years too shows the lie of being ‘anti-imperialist’. This Left has long openly sided with the brutal Assad regime. One of our key tasks is to patiently explain to the workers around the world the truth about the Syrian revolution. We also need to draw the lessons of the workers revolution in Iran in 1979 that was then subverted from within by a theocracy, the dictatorship of Khomeini. It was French imperialism that supported the planting of Khomeini into the revolutionary masses to divert them from completing their democratic tasks. The Khomeini regime killed more than 40 000 Socialists and activists once they had consolidated power. Julani/Al Sharaa will do the same. Imperialism depends on brutal, anti-worker regimes to maintain their absolute control over the masses.
No confidence in Julani/al Sharaa and the interim government
When the resistance forces were being forced out of Syria and took refuge in Idlib, it was the HTS and the Julani leadership that disarmed them. Julani and the HTS were armed by the Turkish regime which is a puppet of US imperialism. Those youth who resisted being disarmed were thrown into the prisons of the HTS in Idlib.
In 2011 at the start of the Syrian uprising, the masses were unarmed and for years they remained unarmed, at the encouragement of the NGO Left around the world. It was only after the most brutal repression that the masses started seeking arms.
It has now emerged that over 150 000 of the activists who opposed the Assad regime were killed since 2011. Imperialism uses mass killing of activists as a means of regaining control. In the times of the dictatorships in Chile, Brasil and Argentina , in each country the regime killed about 40 000 of the activists. They did the same is South Africa in the years just before 1994. US imperialism through its proxy, the Israeli state has mass-killed leading Palestinians in every generation since 1948. Such is the barbarity of imperialism. In the final analysis imperialism can only be defeated by force of arms. That is one of the lessons of the Syrian revolution and many struggles around the globe. The masses need to have arms to safeguard and advance their revolution against the Assad regime and any capitalist regime that tries to suppress the struggle for our demands by force.
In their naivety some of the progressive forces sought arms from Turkey and directly from US imperialism. This was a strategic mistake as imperialism was able to manipulate their influence. The tiny flow of small weapons did reach some of the fighters but imperialism made sure the forces they controlled such as the HTS leadership and Al Qaeda, did receive weapons. In essence the masses were disarmed from within. When the Syrian army split, the officers and generals of the Free Syrian Army came without weapons and imperialism was able to manipulate the direction of the struggle through control of weapons supply.
This does not mean that those who opposed the Assad regime were pro-imperialist. In fact, the conduct of imperialism was to keep the Assad regime intact. We have written several articles about this. You can check our website for past articles. In summary: Imperialism enabled Isis, working with Assad who released a criminal element from his jails to join Isis. Isis was used to terrorise the masses and when they tried to flee then imperialism bombed the masses. On the other hand, imperialism coordinated bombing of the resistance with Russia, signing a cooperation agreement with them on exchange of coordinates. Russia also allied with Hezbollah and the Iranian guards in a ground assault that city by city defeated and expelled the Syrian resistance.
When the resistance reached Idlib the Turkish regime ensured that they were disarmed. Imperialism, working with the YPG and the PKK grabbed the oil fields in Syria. US imperialism saw an opportunity to displace French imperialism who was the main backer of the Assad regime and for it to become the dominant imperial power in Syria.
Julani and the HTS leadership are the forces of US imperialism that hopes to form the new government. To do this they have to disarm the masses and to centralise the arms in the hands of the Syrian state. This is why Julani is doing everything he can to protect the old Syrian regime and prepare the way to re-establish it without Assad. So, it will be the Assad regime minus Assad, still the old murderous apparatus. This is why a key central task is to arm the masses and to disband the Assad regime in total. In place of the Assad regime the masses must set up their own structures of workers’ power, like the Soviets in Russia of 1917. A new power must be set up to defeat and disband the Assad regime from top to bottom. The masses need to set up a new revolutionary government based on the grassroots councils of workers. This revolutionary government should be set up by direct democracy. We reject the self-appointed interim government of Julani/al Sharaa. When imperialism talks of ‘inclusive’ government, they mean including all the bourgeois and petit elements of the Assad regime in the government. This is to strangle the revolution. We reject ‘inclusive government’ with the capitalist and upper middle class. We need a new workers’ power that disperses and dismantles the old power.
What were the decisive factors in the overthrow of the Assad regime?
The central factor was the revolutionary masses in Syria. Despite all the hardship they faced over the past 53 years and especially over the past 13 years, despite being isolated from the world proletarian movement, the Syrian masses were determined to oppose and depose the Assad regime. Hand in hand with this was the heroic example of the Palestinians in Gaza, who despite facing all the forces of imperialism of all the planet who are perpetrating a genocide against them, they have managed to hold out for more than a year. Not only hold out but to defeat the US proxy, Israel. There are thousands of US and UK special forces and forces from all the imperial powers fighting in Gaza on the side of Israel. Israel has an unlimited arms supply, yet they have been unable to defeat the Palestinian resistance. It is this heroism that is inspiring the working class and broader masses around the world that any imperialist power can be defeated. The spark from Syria and Gaza has spread to every country in the world, especially in the imperialist centres. It is this threat to the regimes in the imperialist centres that is now inspiring the masses around the globe, including in Gaza and Syria, to continue the resistance against capitalist regimes and imperialism. The overthrow of the Assad regime is but the start of many revolts against the capitalist apparatus around the globe, not only in the semi-colonies but also in the imperial centres. The resistance of the Palestinians has inspired hundreds of millions of youth and workers around the globe. There is a growing political threat against the rule of capitalism in all of the imperial centres. The heroic example of the Yemeni masses in withstanding more than 10 years of attacks by US imperialism is another factor. The rising of the masses in Sudan, Mozambique, Kenya, Sri Lanka, France, the UK, the revolt of the youth in the USA, are all signs that the capitalist system is facing a severe challenge. It is the rising tide of resistance to the rule of imperialism capitalism around the world that is one of the main factors encouraging the Syrian masses to keep opposing the Assad regime and any capitalist regime or imperialist regime.
The inner logic of the contradictions of imperialism capitalism also decisively weakened the Assad regime. This regime could only exist with the support of Russia, Hezbollah and Iran. The USA has over 40 000 arms companies on home soil. Its economy depends on permanent, expanding war. The US regime has an annual military budget of $880 bn. The war of imperialism on Gaza led to the war on Lebanon which has dealt blows against Hezbollah. US imperialism’s war on Russia in Ukraine has drained the resources of Russia. Iran is under constant threat by US imperialism. There is a growing resistance of the Iranian masses against their regime. Thus the weakening of the main support that kept Assad in power is also a major factor in the overthrow of the regime.
Why is imperialism bombing the Syrian military bases?
Over the past 13 years US imperialism did not bomb the military bases of the Assad regime. If their aim was ‘regime change’ they could easily have done so. In other words, it was in the interest of imperialism to keep Assad in power for him to terrorise and suppress the Syrian masses. They knew that Assad’s weapons were used to suppress the masses and to protect the interests of imperialism. Israel was very safe knowing Assad had access to weapons of all kinds, including chemical weapons. Assad was the chosen agent of imperialism, despite their rhetoric to the contrary. Imperialism knew that an overthrow of the Syrian regime would place all their puppet regimes under threat in the Middle East and other parts of the world. This is why imperialism kept Assad in power. However the strategy of imperialism is always to prepare reserve forces, to control any opposition movements so that when their main puppets are so discredited that they are overthrown then imperialism is able to control any new government and keep the capitalist regime in place. This is a global strategy of imperialism. When the masses overthrow a government, it is always a time of great instability. There are prospects of the capitalist regime being overthrown and being replaced by workers’ power. That is why imperialism does everything possible to maintain its capitalist regime. This is why imperialism, through its proxy Israel, is bombing all the military bases and heavy equipment of the Assad regime, without any response by the Julani interim government. Imperialism cannot allow weapons to fall into the hands of the masses. All capitalist regimes rest on the masses being disarmed. Imperialism is working with Julani to actively disarm the Syrian masses so that they can impose a terror apparatus once again.
This is why a central task of the moment is to establish and expand armed workers councils of delegates, irrespective of religious belief, in all working class areas and all industrial areas and on all large commercial farms, shuras where all women are full participants. Side by side with this is to establish workers militias, that incorporate the rank and file soldiers of the former Assad regime that now support the revolution, so that the masses are armed and control any armed forces directly through the workers’ and soldiers’ councils. These workers and soldiers’ councils should establish a revolutionary government, whose delegates are subject to instant recall and who only earn the wage of a skilled worker. No support to the Julani interim government. The Assad regime must be dispersed.
Forward to a Socialist Syria
The construction of Socialism, that is, the abolition of all relations of oppression and exploitation, is a conscious process and requires the proletariat to have its own party. This proletarian party would unite like-minded activists, centralising both Marxist theory and practice on a global scale, starting in a country, in this case Syria. It is not Marxism that hero-worships any dictator. The Marxist party is not allied to any capitalist party or formation but strives to unite the working class in action against the capitalist system locally and internationally. Such a party needs to be built right now. The formation of such a party of struggle is a pre-condition for establishing Socialism. Such is the party that will lead the working class in Syria to take power into its own hands. No matter all the stresses and strife that the current struggle presents, due attention must be given to building a revolutionary working class party.
It was the women who marched to the prisons of the HTS in Idlib that freed the prisoners. It was the revolutionary Syrian masses that marched to all the prisons of Assad that freed the prisoners. In order to try to be at the head of the masses the HTS and FSA were forced to go on the march to Hama, Homs, Aleppo and Damascus as if they were leading the fight to overthrow Assad. It was the Syrian masses that overthrew Assad. It was not the HTS. Now the imperialist apparatus, their media, the UN, the imperialist regimes are working desperately to build up the image of Julani. Watch out, here is another Khomeini coming. Once Julani has consolidated his grip, he will be worse than Assad or Khomeini.
Proposed demands:
1. Freedom of speech and freedom to organise; freedom of political activity; full and equal rights for all women
2. Factory committees of workers in all workplaces
3. Councils of workers’ representatives in all workplaces and all working-class areas; setting up a revolutionary workers’ government based on the workers’ councils, subject to instant recall and not earning a wage more than a skilled worker. No confidence in Julani and the interim government. The interim government is based on the old Assad regime. Total dismantling of the old Assad regime; all positions in the state to be elective and subject to instant recall; justice for all the martyrs of the revolution;
4. Setting up of armed militia under the control of the workers’ committees so that these become workers’ and soldiers committees, like the Soviets of Russia 1917.
5. For a Constituent Assembly based on delegates from the grassroots councils of workers and small farmers, including full participation of the communities in the Golan heights and representatives of refugees that are unable to return; all delegates to be subject to instant recall and not earning a wage more than a skilled worker; It is only the revolutionary government based on grassroots workers councils that can convene the Constituent Assembly. This is an immediate task. We cannot depend on the Julani/al Sharaa ‘interim government’ to convene the Constituent Assembly. The Julani government is a capitalist regime that is just another version of the Assad regime. It is only the revolutionary government based on workers councils that can guarantee the implementation of any democratic demand, such as defending the entire Syria from imperialist forces.
6. All businesses, banks and organisations and unions should open their books to check for any links to the Assad regime;
7. All businesses with links to the Assad regime should be expropriated without compensation and placed under direct workers’ control
8. All community and union organisations should have Assadist leadership removed from office.
9. All banks should be expropriated without compensation and centralised and placed under workers’ control. All the resources of the country should be placed at the disposal of rebuilding and development for the social needs of all
10. Immediate setting up of parent-student-teacher committees at all schools; Education to be totally re-organised on a liberatory basis, unifying intellectual and manual work; for youth committees at all levels of the revolutionary government.
11. All work should be shared among all who can work; shortening of the working day; sliding scale of wages, all women workers to have full equality in all aspects
12. All large commercial farms to be placed under direct farmworker control; support to the small farmers; nationalisation of the land; small farmers to elect their own councils of delegates to represent their views;
13. Revolutionary government to control all foreign trade; immediate abolishing of the drug trade
14. Immediate expulsion of all troops from Turkey, USA and Israel
15. Solidarity with the Palestinian and Lebanese masses; solidarity with the masses in Yemen, Sudan, DRC and all oppressed of the world.
16. Setting up of Syria support committees in all countries.
17. Setting up of a new revolutionary Socialist International
18. Expulsion of all imperialist military bases from the region.
19. For a federation of Socialist workers states of the Middle East
21 December 2024 amended 2.01.2025
Issued by WIVL, ISM, FLTI, Marxist Group of Namibia
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